May 10, 2012 - Sale 2278

Sale 2278 - Lot 69

Price Realized: $ 1,800
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
MAX PONTY (1904-1972) PEUGEOT. Circa 1930.
47x31 1/2 inches, 119 1/2x80 cm.
Condition A-: minor restoration in image.
Ponty's most memorable contribution to the world of graphic arts was the Gitanes cigarette package, which he designed in 1947. By that time he already had a long and distinguished career behind him. He spent seven years working for Draeger, the Parisian printer, and then opened his own studio where he handled steady commissions for prominent clients like Galeries Lafayette, Radiola and Peugeot, as well as designing travel posters. His style is very typical of the French Art Deco school, relying heavily on the use of the airbrush. Here, he introduces photography into the design, which was certainly in vogue at the time, but not something he often worked with.